Allianz’s Graham Gibson appointed as Chairman of Thatcham Research

Thatcham Research, the independent voice of automotive safety and repair, has announced the appointment of Allianz’s Graham Gibson as the new Chairman of its Board.

As chief claims officer at Allianz Insurance, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, Graham is an industry advocate with extensive experience in a range of market initiatives across claims and personal injury. He also serves on a variety of insurer related groups, including Board Member for the Insurance Fraud Bureau.

Graham said: “I am excited to have been given this opportunity to work closely with Thatcham Research. Their passion and commitment to improving automotive safety and security demonstrates a dedication to both the insurance industry and vehicle manufacturers.

“I have seen first-hand the hard work and innovative research carried out by Thatcham Research having been an active member of its board since 2012. I look forward to working with members of the team and producing some exciting research.”

He replaces current Chairman Ian Currie, who is retiring from his role as UK Motor and Injury Claims Director at RSA, after two-and-a-half years at the helm. Ian has contributed to Thatcham Research as a Board member over six years and helped steer it through a period of notable change, with the organisation increasingly recognised as a global centre of excellence for assisted and automated driving assessment and testing.

The Thatcham Research Board is drawn from its 24 member insurers, who fund the essential research on vehicle safety, security, personal injury and accident damage repair.

Ruth McRitchie, Thatcham Research Director of Finance, welcomed Graham’s appointment: “I am delighted to welcome Graham as our new Chairman. He brings a wealth of experience from his role at Allianz, together with his commitment and enthusiasm for Thatcham.

“Under Ian Currie’s leadership, we have repositioned ourselves to address the future challenges for the motor insurance industry. Our new three-year strategic plan sets out the key challenges of preparing our members for the emergence of autonomous and assisted driving. This includes the impact of connected cars and cyber security, along with the repair challenges resulting from the rapid growth of new electric and hybrid vehicles.

“We’re very much looking forward to working even more closely with Graham as he prepares to build on everything that Ian has delivered for us. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Ian who has provided us with such strong leadership.”

Thatcham Research is the independent voice of automotive safety & repair, advising motorists, insurers and vehicle manufacturers to help reduce accident frequency, severity and costs and to realise the vision of ‘Safer cars, fewer crashes’.

As well as its world leading crash and track research, Thatcham Research tests and accredits crash repair parts, vehicle repair technicians, and a number of other products and services within the collision repair industry for insurers, motor manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

In addition, Thatcham Research has been at the forefront of vehicle security since the 1990s when it introduced the New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) to address levels of vehicle crime.

A founder member of the international Research Council for Automobile Repairs (RCAR), Thatcham Research has also been a member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) since 2004.